LA Times Columnist Trusted ACORN; Patterico Remembers

Lsst September LA Times columnist trusted an ACORN employee - what, was he nuts?  Patterico is standing by with the crow.

Comments

[peter]

Sorry to go OT so soon but the USPS is ending its volunteer program to respond to letters to Santa. Wasn't Obama going to increase volunteerism? I guess not if it helps perpetuate a traditional value. Maybe we can volunteer to respond to letters to Chairman Mao. H/T Jim O'Sullivan at LUN.

[Jane]

Some failures are just so delicious.

[Pagar]

Peter, I posted this yesterday, but IOM it bears repeating. There is an entire alternate to Christmas holiday. It was started by a person who was in an American jail for:

If the reporter had bothered to do any research into the background of the Kwanzaa founder, he might have learned about Karenga's trial earlier that year on charges of torturing two women who were members of US (United Slaves), a black nationalist cult he had founded."

LUN

This is simply another attack on American Christian type holiday traditions and another chance to attack Alaska by the Obama Administration. Every site that mentions this story should point out the Kwanzaa connection to human torure and slavery.

[narciso]

Following from the last thread she has a signing in Washington PA, at 11, which isn't that far from D.C., but then one at 6 in Rochester, NY, then one in Roanoke on Sunday,
after the carnage

[Jane]

OT: B

New guidelines for cervical cancer screening say women should delay their first Pap test until age 21, and go for screening less often than had been previously recommended.

LUN

[narciso]

Someone needs to peel of their skin, make sure they are Visitors, Sebelius made that kind of obvious, WTH is wrong with these people, tell me they are not the 'party of death', sorry Wes and Ramesh, who wants to let this pass then try to repeal it; that's
the fugu school of legislation

[bad]

Patterico's story is delicious! Reminds me of all those layers of editors and factcheckers.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[anduril]

Some months ago I outraged one and all at JOM by stating that Rick Moran had written a "stupid" (or was it "profoundly stupid"?) column. Oh what a storm of vituperation that comment raised! I don't usually have that opinion of Rick--although I rarely read more than the first paragraph of his articles--but most everyone has bad days. Now it looks like JOM darling Moran has had one of his good days: A Rogue Reaction: Palin Is No Reagan

Those nasty elites are coming down hard on Sarah Palin for putting her name on a book with about as much heft as cotton candy. This means I get to add her to my list of “cotton candy conservatives [1]” — which I hesitated in doing previously only because she had not proved herself worthy.

...

Palin could have taken the opportunity to write a more thoughtful exposition of her beliefs and ideas. Perhaps she did and they were cut — unsuitable for the market that the publisher was wishing to reach. Not to belabor the point as I have previously, but many of Sarah’s supporters might get a little suspicious if she began to use words of more than three syllables and deviated at all from right-wing dogma.

Many — not all — of Palinites have made it plain that thinking conservatives are suspect because they see shades of gray when, obviously, there is only black and white. If she had sounded too much like one of the “elites,” they may have turned on her as they have turned on so many who fail their ever more convoluted litmus tests of who they deem “conservative enough.”

However, I will give her the benefit of the doubt and believe that she meant to be as shallow and depthless as she has demonstrated in the past.

...

Where Reagan used his gifts of communication to inspire his audience, Palin uses her considerable ability to connect emotionally with people to breed anger and resentment. Where Reagan was a veritable font of ideas, Palin is a pale echo of dozens of conservative pundits who rely on talking points and tired, cliched, 1980s-era solutions to our problems.

...

Palin is the anti-Reagan in this and many other respects. Where the Gipper had one eye on the past while trying to look over the next hill into the future, Palin and many of her supporters hold on to the past for dear life as the future rolls up to meet us. I believe this to be her basic attraction to so many conservatives. She offers a comfortable place for those who are so inclined to ignore the verity of the present and who, quite rightly, fear the future. The soothing yet empty bromides, the hackneyed and cliched talking points, and the familiar responses to America’s problems are indicative of a mind incapable of expanding to meet new challenges and new opportunities.

...

It has been a year since she burst onto the national scene and she has done little to rectify the huge gaps in knowledge and nuance that exposed her as an intellectually unserious person during the campaign. And by that I mean simply that she has failed to apply herself in any meaningful way to the process of learning what she needs to know in order to become a successful politician. Not an academic. Not a pointy-headed elite at some think tank, but rather a thoughtful citizen of the republic who knows enough about the issues facing America to serve effectively.

Until she proves me wrong, I will continue to celebrate her as a cotton candy conservative with no more heft than the confection’s wispy strands of caramelized sugar that look so delightful but have little taste beyond a vague, sickly sweetness.

Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!

No, I still have no intention of reading Sarah's book but, in fairness, if Rick Moran ever writes a book (has he?) I doubt I'd read that either. And while I enjoy observing someone with a talent for invective, I would have liked to have seen even one example of specific criticism of Sarah from Rick--such as I provided the other day. I still admire Sarah in a number of ways, but like Rick I don't think she's the answer to conservative needs--not by a long shot. Hopefully someone of that caliber will emerge soon.

[hit and run]

Hey,look,a California thread.

Wake up west coasters. Especially you DrJ...

Gather around everyone...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRJ!!!!!!

You deserve extra protein today.

[centralcal]

Happy Birthday DrJ. May you have many blessings in the year ahead.

[Pagar]

O/T C.

Can any member/former member of the military believe that a person who made this remark to his superior officer was promoted?

"His supervisor, Captain Naomi Surman, recalled his telling her that as an infidel she who would be "ripped to shreds" and "burn in hell." Another person reports his declaring that infidels should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats."

LUN

IMO, the fault lies with the top of the system. Capt Surman and the others are fully aware that their careers end the day someone, (beginning with the CinC down thru the Sec of Defense and the Sec of the Army) perceive them to be anti Muslim by reporting the problem individual.

[narciso]

Happy birthday, Dr. J, who has the list. Rick Moran, is so famously wrong one doesn't know
where to begin

[Janet]

"Some fake whore/pimp team ought to look into it..."

This should be our new line whenever the MSM ignores an obvious story. It is from comments at AceofSpades.

[bad]

Happy Birthday, DrJ. May you get lots of what you want.

[Janet]

"(Author's note: I will not actually be purchasing a copy of "Going Rogue". See, my local San Francisco bookseller has a "buy 12, get one free" program and I just noticed that my next book is on the house. Would I dare make them special order "Going Rogue" just for me? You betcha!)

Dirk Salvo"

This is from an Am. Thinker article. LUN
They would rather lose money than carry Sarah's book!

[Jane]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. J!

and many more~~~~

[Neo]

she has a signing in Washington PA, at 11

That's southwest of Pittsburg, in the middle of "clingers" territory.

[DrJ]

Thanks all! And yes, I do hope to have a few more.

[Neo]

You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The universe is laughing behind your back.

Therefore, make peace with your god
Whatever you conceive him to be---
Hairy thunderer, or cosmic muffin.

With all its hopes, dreams, promises and urban renewal
The world continues to deteriorate.

GIVE UP!

[RichatUF]

Happy Birthday DrJ. Many happy returns.

[clarice]

HB, DrJ! Don't drink anything we wouldn't.

[DrJ]

:) Clarice. That gives me wide latitude!

[Porchlight]

Happy Birthday, DrJ! Have a wonderful time!

[Pagar]

Another columnist story!

"The Day I Met Sarah Palin…and the Liberal Media"

"I had met the woman who had inspired me to become interested in politics and is one of the huge factors in my interest for learning about our countries great history. Meeting Sarah has been the highlight of my senior year so far, that is for sure!"

LUN

There is hope for America! God bless Sarah Palin for giving America hope again after the disasterous Obama administration that seems intent on destroying us.

[Frau Nebenan]

Put another wrinkle on your birthday suit, DrJ, and enjoy your special day. It looks like a grand day all over the country.

Pagar, the *rehabilitated* Ron Everett, aka Ron Karenga, aka Maulana Karenga, aka Father Kwanzaa was a professor of African Studies at a CA state university. I heard him "debate" Abigail Thernstrom on a radio program, and I was honestly unable to understand what he was saying despite his clear enough diction. His favorite words were hegelian and hegelian dialectic which did not apply to the topic. His conclusion was that he would agree to disagree with Thernstrom.

[Frau Nebenan]

...Wes and Ramesh, who wants to let this pass then try to repeal it;
narciso, isn't that how we got McCain-Feingold? GWB signed the bill thinking the SC would knock it down and --surprise! The entire "This is not a perfect health bill, but we can improve it after it's passed" is crazy.

[clarice]

Yes, indeed Frau about CFR and this bill.
Thernstrom is one true American hero IMO.

Just took one of the ABin5 minutes loaves of deli rye out of the oven and the house smells wonderful.
C

[Frau Nebenan]

Moran: "Not to belabor the point as I have previously, but many of Sarah’s supporters might get a little suspicious if she began to use words of more than three syllables and deviated at all from right-wing dogma."

I'll stick with Fowler and Fowler:
"Any one who wishes to become a good writer should endeavour, before he allows himself to be tempted by the more showy qualities, to be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid.
This general principle may be translated into practical rules in the domain of vocabulary as follows: -
Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched.
Prefer the concrete word to the abstract.
Prefer the single word to the circumlocution.
Prefer the short word to the long.
Prefer the Saxon word to the Romance."
(The King's English, Third Edition, p.11)

[clarice]

I don't remember the Great Communicator RR using fancy locutions either, frau..

[narciso]

What the heck does Hegelian dialectic have to do with African socialism, which is Ron Karenga's calling card. I was a young lad when he first became President, but statements
like we 'paid for it, it's ours (re the Panama canal')That Vietnam was a noble cause, among others rang as odd to the intelligentsia
then as Sarah or Glenn's or Rush do now.

[matt]

DrJ;

May your grants grow and research be successful. Happy Birthday!

[anduril]

For Pete's sake, can't somebody stop this pussy footin' around and just come out and blast Moran? The JOM heartthrob is off the rez! :-( There's gotta be some names you people reserve for people like that! Hey, I've got it--consult the Anchoress! She seems to have a suitable vocabulary--short, no circumlocution involved.

[anduril]

Heh. Instead of "short" I should have said "monosyllabic." Hangin' around here'll ruin my style!

[narciso]

Here's a sample at the end of the book, there are others in the text, but this doesn't seem
that sumplistic:

“At it’s most basic level, conservatism is a respect for history and tradition, including traditional moral principles, I do not believe that I am more moral,
certainly no better than anyone else. . .I deal with the world as it is, complicated and beautiful, tragic and hopeful.People who adhere to the unrestrained vision, believe that human nature is changeable and that societies problems can all be solved if only the poor ignorant disorganized public is told and rational plans” (385)

[anduril]

narciso, you've got something wrong, and crucially so. This part doesn't hang together:

"...if only the poor ignorant disorganized public is told and rational plans”

Perhaps you could correct that, because that seems to be the climax of her train of thought.

What she's saying is somewhat disorganized, but we get the idea. I dislike her penchant for stroking the basest instincts in America, embodied in phrases like: I do not believe that I am more moral, certainly no better than anyone else.

From what I've seen of her, she probably is more moral than many, so stop pandering to the LCD and let them make up their minds on such questions--it will almost certainly be in her favor.

But the core of what she's saying here is what gets her so disliked by liberals: her rejection of the basic liberal view that human nature is changeable and that societies [sic narciso] problems can all be solved...

That's good stuff, but unfortunately she muddies the water with stuff about "traditional moral principles." Don't get me wrong, I share her attitude toward such principles, but history shows that we can't rely on tradition alone--there must be, and in fact there is, a rational basis for such principles: the natural law. Reject that, and the "traditional moral principles" are reduced to little more than emotion or sentiment.

OK, she's not a philosopher. I can live with that, and this side of her that narciso's quote reveals is what I find most appealing in her. But it's not enough to make her suitable for the presidency. I'm sure Moran finds these same attitudes appealing, but shares my disquiet with her lack of information.

[Ann]

Happy Birthday, DrJ!!!!!!!!

[narciso]

I haven't seen any indication of that, in his year of following him, or even some of his blog talk radio entries. what is his policy view on anything. BTW, it's not pretty the mauling he is receiving in the comment section.

[anduril]

So what's the matter with people at JOM--are they just gonna lay down and take that stuff from Moran? But I'm interested--as I said, I'd have preferred if Moran had offered some specifics. I don't follow him. What do you think his motivation was, or what were his objections? Was he merely pandering to the pointy headed among us?

[anduril]

Hah, btw, I just got my new micro hi-fi. The speakers are very close to 3x the size as those of my little Sony, so with that and the better quality innards, this may work out in the living room. Should be a bit fuller bass and mid. And hopefully it'll recognize all CD's. I'm gonna go for my walk before I set it up.

Re Moran, I was a bit surprised because I thought he'd be the type to mindlessly back her. So I was wrong. That's why I actually read this article--the surprise factor.

[Captain Hate]

BTW, it's not pretty the mauling he is receiving in the comment section.

I think it's great. Moran is like the Marty Peretz of the semi-right; smart but does way too many dumbass things to be trustworthy.

[Gregory Koster]

Perhaps Moran really believes what he writes. If so, the world is one nasty surprise after another to him.

Anduril and Narciso are both wrong. No one knows the author of the quoted paragraph. Is it SP or Lynn Vincent? Whose thoughts are these? It is one thing for a busy executive to delegate speechwriting. There's no public duty to write a memoir. More, why delegate the telling of your own life story? If we mock The Once for farming out his own memoirs, why should SP be spared? She has been less than candid about the help she's received as a glance at the title page of GOING ROGUE shows. A single sentence in the middle of the acknowledgments to Lynn Vincent isn't enough, any more than yelling "Footnotes!" could save Doris Goodwin from a plagiarism charge. No, this was a project to pay SP's debts and give her a measure of independence. An honorable motive, but sullied by the attempts to claim the book as SP's sole work.

[narciso]

Why is that so crazy, GK since she did have Thomas Sowell's book on the campaign trail and
has referenced him in her Facebook posts. Unlike Obama who made a big deal with "Ghost
Wars" must missed the main point.

[anduril]

Anduril and Narciso are both wrong.

Um, wrong about what? I'm presuming that she at least endorsed the words, whether or not she spoke them. That's hardly a stretch. Having put the book out under name, she's responsible for those words, whether she was the actual author or not. Until she disowns those words, we can take them to express her views.

[hit and run]

From the http://hotair.com/archives/2009/11/20/wow-palins-publisher-boosts-print-run-from-1-5-million-to-2-5-million/>not a Palin cheerleader AllahPundit:

Assuming HC has that sell-through rate in mind, boosting production to 2.5 million copies means they’re now expecting to sell north of 1.8 million — and that Palin will more than earn out her advance, gigantic as it is at a cool $7 mil. The only questions now are whether they’ll boost production yet again(!) and how long it’ll be before the rumors start about another book. The obvious choice for a topic is the future of conservatism, which won’t sell as much as a personal memoir but will still do plenty of business among grassroots righties, especially if it’s rushed out in time for the midterms(*).

Whoa. Wait. JOM heartthrob (wait,what??? well,it was claimed,it must be so!) Rick Moran said this was her one shot at a policy book!!!!!111!!1!!!!1!

Hmmmm, Dreams of My Father begat Audacity of Hope (*published,interestingly enough in the fall of...2006).

Could Going Rogue begat.......?

JOM heartthrob Moran wouldn't see it coming. And should it happen,he'll probably be the first and/or the loudest to squawk at the awful nature of "copying" Obama.

Good golly,people,if you didn't realize it yet,acknowledge it now. This is Sarah Palin's world and we are all just living in it. She could speak monosyllabically from here to whatever date she enters a presidential nomination (if ever),but she'd still be responding to and engaging in the strategic political landscape better than,well,you.

(I trust that *you* aren't so vain as to think this comment is about *you*. It would make Carly very sad if you were.)

[hit and run]

I got the title of Obama's first memoir wrong,saying "of" when it is actually "from".

To anyone I may have offended,I offer my most insincere apologies.

To everyone else,I shoulda taken the time to get it right.

But I don't regret the error.

[bgates]

That's why I actually read this article

Better than reading the primary document, I guess.

[Flodigarry]

DrJ - Please accept my felicitations on your natal day.

May I recommend a nice Bombay Sapphire and Tonic to celebrate?

Best wishes for a most salubrious new year.

F

[anduril]

But hit, whether or not SP is engaging effectively in politics has no bearing on Moran's opinion of her. Lots of rogues have been effective politicians, after all.

Much as I enjoyed Moran's invective, I still wish he would back up his opinions with specific examples. I offered one of my own, drawn not from the book but from an interview. However, if a pundit is going to offer opinions about a person in such strong terms I think he owes it to his public to back them up. If he chooses to do so, I'll read that--but not the SP book. It would take one doozy of a controversy to get me to do that.

JOM Heartthrob? It's still remarkable to me that Moran is being treated with kid gloves by JOM's SP groupies, whereas narciso says he's being raked over the coals at PJM. JOMers should be up in arms over his smear of Sarah without textual backup. Seems bad journalism to me. If a liberal had said half of what Moran said they'd be raising holy hell.

[anduril]

DrJ, set up the Denon and tried it out. It's a marked improvement, but then I'm not used to good quality. I'm happy.

[DrJ]

May I recommend a nice Bombay Sapphire and Tonic to celebrate?

But of course! However, my technician gave me an outstanding Cabernet that just had to be savored with a meal that merited it. Yum!

[hit and run]

anduril:
But hit, whether or not SP is engaging effectively in politics has no bearing on Moran's opinion of her.

True 'nough.

I held off on this,but figure since this is enough of a dead thread I'll post it.

...

The idea that "Palin is *NOT* the next Reagan!!!1!!!!!!!!11!!!" is itself as spectacularly dumb as the idea that "Palin *IS* the next Reagan". And yes,I said it,trying to make Palin into the next Reagan is dumb.

Here's a question,are there more people in the world of media and punditry on a per capita basis saying she's *not* the next Reagan,or are there more saying she *is* the next Reagan everywhere else?

And if I am not mistaken,though I am certainly not completely sure,I don't think Palin has ever said anything about herself being the next Reagan.

All these people trying to convince us that she is *not* the next Reagan,are projecting their own idea that she *is trying to be* the next Reagan.

Just like the liberals,these people have allowed a caricature of Palin to get inside their head,getting themselves all wee wee'd up,making a mess of themselves.

Every single thing Palin has done since being introduced on the national stage has been met by a chorus of self-proclaimed experts saying why what she said or did is wrong,bad,evil,stupid,whatever.

And then she turns around and makes fools of them,though they'll never admit it,if they even can recognize it.

Does Palin wish things had turned out differently in the presidential election,in her term as governor,in the NY-23 election?

You betcha.

But every time one of those things isn't an unmitigated success for her,the smart folks say it was an unmitigated disaster from which she can't possibly recover.

And yet,there she is again,on the national stage,bigger than the last time;things keep on happening with her right in the center of them. Must be dumb luck,that.

Palin is *not* Reagan.

OK. Got it.

So?

[Ann]

smooches, hit!

[Flodigarry]

DrJ -

Lovely. If you are interested in a nice white wine to refresh the palate - pretty much any sauvignon blanc from New Zealand will do the trick!

Happy Birthday!

[anduril]

Sorry, hit. I didn't read it.

[PD]

So what's the matter with people at JOM--are they just gonna lay down and take that stuff from Moran?

Sheesh. You're like Hannity when he gets one liberal on the show, quotes something atrocious said by another liberal, and then says, "Will you condemn those remarks!?"

[hit and run]

Sorry, hit. I didn't read it.

That's ok. I hadn't read it since 'round 'bout 11am either.

[anduril]

But I'm unlike Hannity (whom I don't watch, or read--oh wait, unless I'm staying in a hotel; I don't have cable) in that I say these things for free.

[PD]

If we mock The Once for farming out his own memoirs, why should SP be spared? She has been less than candid about the help she's received as a glance at the title page of GOING ROGUE shows. A single sentence in the middle of the acknowledgments to Lynn Vincent isn't enough, any more than yelling "Footnotes!" could save Doris Goodwin from a plagiarism charge. No, this was a project to pay SP's debts and give her a measure of independence. An honorable motive, but sullied by the attempts to claim the book as SP's sole work.

We mock him because he passes the book off as entirely his own work, whereas there is plenty of reason to suspect it isn't.

With Palin's book, by contrast, we've known Lynn Vincent was her collaborator since the day the publication date was announced. Less than candid? Are you kidding? Maybe you didn't know about Vincent until recently or something, but it's not Palin's fault you're uninformed about the collaborative nature of the work.

Attempt to claim the book as SP's sole work? When has that ever been done?

[DrJ]

pretty much any sauvignon blanc from New Zealand will do the trick!

True enough; I also enjoy the Alsatian whites. Still, we are more Zin people in spite of what has happened to that variety over the last few years.

The Cab was outstanding though. Typically Californian, with lot of cherries and a long finish. Not profound like some of the better Frendh ones, but a lot of fun.

[boris]

"history shows that we can't rely on tradition alone--there must be, and in fact there is, a rational basis for such principles"

That seems like the same misguided faith that leads some scientists to claim computers can model climate.

In theory yes. In practice no.